CoSl
Raising the sun isn't an easy job. Celestia knows that better than anypony. It requires vision and creativity, and she can only do her best work when the inspiration strikes her. But, as is true with all good art, nobody else cares about that. ·Obselescence

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As a series of odd dreams plague Applejack night after night, she turns to the only one pony who can help her make sense of it all. But both sides of the story are as different as night and day, and nothing is ever as it seems in the world of dreams. ·KitsuneRisu

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With crime rates on the rise in Cloudsdale, a single pegasus takes it upon himself to right the wrongs in his city. But for somepony who'd never stepped outside of an office before, where was he going to begin? ·KitsuneRisu

I remember when I used to play chess. It was one of the few things I had in common with my own teacher. Occasionally when all the kids went out for recess and lunch, I'd stay behind and play a game with them.

It was never a serious game, never for things like pride or importance, just for fun. I got really into it at one point, looking for books and practicing with my family or against computer games. I was never any good, never won any games, but I was young, just young enough to not care about winning or losing all the time.

But then that one day, I was staying in, having another friendly game, and I won. We were both genuinely shocked that I had actually won a game, let alone against someone with such experience. But there it was on the board, a checkmate for white. I'm not sure if I had gotten better, or if my teacher had a critical slip, but it felt nice. Not much different from all the other games mind you, but with a bit of pride floating around in the room.

...

No one ever wants to play chess anymore. Everyone's either in the middle of something or they have plans. It's kind of sad, not being able to fit in a simple board game. I haven't played a game in literally years. It's such a great game, and it certainly isn't monopoly where there are multi-day world records for longest games. Just a quick bout where you try to corner the other's king.

...

So why isn't there time anymore?

Heh, look at me, going off on my life stories when I should be talking about this story here. Train of thought, you so silly.

I very much enjoyed this, I couldn't help but read the entire thing aloud, which is reserved for thought-provoking stories. The idea of them being so close just to be separated by their own thoughts is... I want to say sweet, but it doesn't really do it justice. It shows how much they have both grown, how they both think, just how much they can figure out and still be so wrong about each other as well.

I think I'm about to devolve to pointless rambling, but simply put, this is good enough to be in my "actual" favorites. They really need a way to separate favoriting from following. G'night!

For a moment there, I thought they'd tip over their kings at the same time.

But then, you didn't say who won, so I suppose that it's still possible.

So I'll just content myself with the thought of Celestia and Twilight looking into each other's eyes for a second or two, lighting up their faces with a smile, reaching out with a hoof, and knocking their kings over at the same time.

For two such immensely intelligent, talented and perceptive ponies who've known each other for a long time, Celestia and Twilight sure don't understand each other.

No, that's not exactly it... perhaps they see themselves in one another? You think it's a mirror, but it's actually someone like you behind the window, mimicking your expressions (or thinking that you do the same). Confusing.

This was utterly exquisite. It pulled tears from me with effortless grace.

This is exactly what happens when two people - ponies or otherwise - have not yet found the way past their eccentricities, responsibilities, and internal baggage so that they can truly communicate. Celestia and Twilight clearly have an intensely powerful relationship... and just as clearly have not yet found and explored what that does and will mean for them.

With so many other things going on in their lives, who can blame them for not building this bridge before? And here we see them staring at each other across a chasm, each wondering whether the other will find it acceptable even to lay down a stronger foundation for said bridge. And finally they lay down the first stone, both at the same time, and to their surprise - and to nopony's surprise who's been paying any attention to them, especially those of us who have hoped for the love of Harmony that they would finally get around to doing it - even that first stone is powerful enough for them to know that the bridge will, in time, be completed.

And that is why this story is Liked and Faved, and you, oh author, Followed: because you reminded me at such a profound level how important it is to lay that first stone.

I think the appropriate way for this match to end is for Twilight to ponder some more, then offer Celestia a draw/tie, which Celestia would graciously accept. Then perhaps Twilight would offer to play another match at a later date but without the pressure of competition or spectators.

This is what I would expect from her growing maturity as this game/fic progressed.

I loved this story. I'm not sure it should be tagged comedy though, I found it rather sad. I know it will all work out when they have their talk afterward but they both seemed so insecure, and maybe a bit lonely... That might not be the right word, but still.

This was incredible. You have two characters speaking volumes to each other without a word of written dialogue. And your move-by-move section formatting was truly inspired and quite engaging. I love how they're both so absurdly good at it that they can both trash-talk and think circles around each other's ulterior motives (and their own) while playing; it's not often that a story manages to not just tell but show their minds in action, and it's also rare to simultaneously demonstrate both Twilight's intelligence (as opposed to magical ability) and Celestia's experience/intelligence without diminishing either.

And for a minute I thought that feather-duster was going to be Celestia's feathers, which would be one heck of a distraction.

Sort of reminds me of when I used to play against my brother. Our granddad is a chess grand master, so we both picked up a few things for him. Our play styles and tactics have changed as we drifted in and out of the sport, but I was always the better player. It sometimes came down to the wire, but I was always able to outwit him, every time. But then, his tactics changed. Once he figured out he couldn't beat me, his endgame moves starting taking on a new direction. Taking advantage of my need to systematically clear his side of the board, he became very good at forcing stalemates.

Brilliant story. The silent interaction between Twilight and Celestia was absolutely brilliant, and they both felt true to their character. If I wanted to spend some time analyzing, I'm sure I could find something to quip about, but I don't care about any faults, as they are not significant.

I loved the ambiguity in not revealing the winner, too. Beautifully developed, driven, and resolved plotline.

Thank you so much for sharing that story with me. It's really this kind of thing that makes me happy to have written something. The point of stories is to share experiences, right? So you've given me something that's worth more than what I've written, since it's so personal. I'm glad what I wrote has made you remember. One thing that I always want to have in anything I write is that... it ought to make people think. Stories need to make people think. So it seems like it fit the bill in this case. =)

Thank you very much for your heartfelt comments, and I hope to be able to make you think again sometime in the future with another one of my meager offerings.

I'm terrible too! In fact, I barely know how to play, haha. And yeah, the tags... them tags have ALWAYS been a problem for me. The stuff I write really isn't 'standard' in any of the tags that are available on FimFic... I have very misleading stories. =\

The power of an ambiguous ending is that sometimes you can take what you want from it and be happy. I did in fact, leave it open for this purpose. The 'reality' of this is that... you guys can choose what you want! It all works.

Thank you very much for writing out that very weighty comment. These comments are the kind that really make me feel that I've sent across that message well. It's the kind that lets me know that as a teller of stories and emotions and sentiment, I was successful. So thank you, my friend, for reading, for loving, and for travelling with me, and may we have more journeys in the future to come.

I find it very hard to tag my stories. I usually involve so many elements. However, the story here ends on a very happy and hopeful tone. The sadness only is temporary, but the smiles last longer. So to me, it's more of a comedy, even though it's not EXACTLY a comedy.

Thank you very much for the comments! I'm happy that you liked it. Really happy. And yes, the insinuation was that it was Celestia's feathers, but having that as what actually happened would be a bit too ridiculous! It's still fun to mislead a bit though, huh. ^_^

No no. Nonsense. Really. I got lucky. Please join the competition! Why would we say no to more good works? And who's to say you won't blow me out of the water? The only way to find out is to join, so please do. =)

Melancholic, I would say. There is no melancholic tag. But if there was, I'd definitely stick that on this. However, Comedy is... a good setup. I can't say I did it also a little on purpose because if people go into it thinking it's funny (and it does have comedy elements at the start), the feels hit harder at the end. Truthfully, labeling it as sad would have only given it a negative connotation from the start. Everyone would EXPECT that it would be ending up with bad things through association, and it might not be as effective in that sense, since this story isn't told through standard narration.

I NEVER know what to tag them. I suffer from a lot of people being turned away from the offset due to that sort of thing you just described. But that's the business. There isn't even a 'normal' tag in FimFic so I'm stuck with either slapping sad, comedy, adventure or slice-of-life on everything when nothing I write REALLY is any of those things, or takes a lot of those together in a big pot.

Beautiful and kind'a painful to watch, but in the sympathetic sense, seeing these two. (Aside from occasional bursts of 'One Night in Bangkok' that kept rumbling through my mind; I never even saw the play ... )

And on a stylistic choice, I'll also note it was probably best to not go into too much detail on the moves they were making, aside from that they were made. Just enough detail to know what's going on, but not enough for the herd of grandmasters who read pony fic to analyse. (Seriously, I ended up doing this to an XKCD comic. Something bugged me, likely the fact that he initially drew it with three bishops; he later defrocked one. But not at my request.)

Overall, a good tense psychological piece. With a good payoff at the end.

I read it, and had a good laugh. Chuckling a little I hit the upvote and went on my merry way in another tab.

While I was in this other tab I whiled away my time on a mindless task. Said task gave me time to think over what I just read. I have to admit, fridge horror is the term that comes to mind. This was actually kind of terrifying when I thought about. All the things that could be but won't. The worst part is we'll never know; we'll be perfectly fine without the 'never-to-be's'.

Holy crap my brain.

...

And as I type this I realize: all you wanted to do was write a story. And we come full circle. Now I'm laughing again, ha.

I like to write stories that sort of... try to make people think of things, really. It's always my intention to pen provocative pieces that, in some way or other, have something to ponder or consider. Like little puzzles and little considerations, so I wouldn't really say that I just wanted to write a story. And in the end, you should be more comforted to know that this story ends however we want it to, and we don't necessarily have to focus on the 'not haves' but rather on the 'what ifs'. It's not a cheat - I don't leave it open for the point that I can't end it. But I leave it open because it ends where it needs to end, and I think... I think the rest is a gift. Fill in your own blanks, picture your own scene, and make everything right, because everything will be fine. All you need is to open the door, and the treasure that lies behind is whatever you can possibly imagine.

That said though, 90% of what I write usually only has that impact if you stop and think about things, and that's how I like it.